Residents continue Portage Prairie project battle

-Common Council will vote on annexation Nov. 28.

-Common Council will vote on annexation Nov. 28.

November 19, 2005|JAMIE LOO Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND -- A crowd fought the plan before the Area Plan Commission in March. A smaller contingent turned out to oppose it before Common Council in May. Then there was one: Ronald Gadacz spoke before the Area Plan Commission in August. And at this week's Common Council meeting, Kathie Bieschke was the last one standing. "I don't think it should be said on the public record that no one opposed it," Bieschke said. "Neighbors are opposed to it." The council is now scheduled to vote on annexation for the remaining 235-acre parcel of Waggoner's Dairy Farm on Nov. 28. The land is part of the Holladay Properties' 600-acre Portage Prairie development around Portage Avenue, Mayflower Road, Adams Road and U.S. 31. The heirs of the late farmer Chet Waggoner petitioned for a voluntary annexation of the land. The project had to be approved in two phases because state law requires at least one-eighth of the annexed area to touch city limits. Holladay Properties plans to create a multi-use development with retail, medical offices, light industrial, residential units, a school and hospital. When the project was announced last December, it drew protests from residents in German Township who live near the development. As approval for the plan passed through each governing body, the protesters' numbers slowly dwindled. But that doesn't mean they don't care anymore, Bieschke said. This week's Common Council meeting was at the same time as a German Township meeting to discuss the future of the fire department. The German Township Fire Department is considering building a new fire station, which many residents oppose. Another option is to consolidate the fire department with Clay Township. Bieschke said she talked to several neighbors who are so "disenchanted" with the South Bend council that going to the township meeting for those discussions were a better use of their time. "They felt their voice would've been better heard there," she said. Portage Avenue resident Phyllis Barkley attended that meeting instead of the Common Council's. Barkley said she feels "it's a done deal." "What can we do?" Barkley said. "It's in the city now, and John Phair (Holladay Properties president and chief executive officer) can do with it what he pleases." In previous meetings, neighbors said they would move out of German Township if the annexation and rezoning were approved. Barkley said many elderly residents are upset over the plan but are still staying. Bieschke, a lifelong resident of Adams Road, said she has had conversations with people who said if they were to buy a new home, it wouldn't be in St. Joseph County. Although older residents might be leaving, several new housing developments are springing up in the area. Art Gorman and his wife, Ginny, just moved into a home at Arbor Pointe off Mayflower Road from the southeast side of South Bend. "My wife wanted to be in the country and I wanted to be in the city, so we got a pretty good compromise," he said while carrying boxes off a moving truck. Gorman, who plans to retire in a year and a half, said he is not opposed to the Holladay multi-use development because of the convenience the retail stores would provide. But Gorman said that if those plans fall through, he is concerned another rezoning could hurt the neighborhood. "I'm hoping we don't have to face an industrial park," he said. Bieschke said she sees similarities between the Portage Prairie opposition and the Catholic Worker Houses on West Washington Street. Neighbors who are against the homeless aid home have said they want to preserve the zoning and character of the neighborhood. Bieschke said residents against the Portage Prairie development are also trying to preserve their neighborhood. Bieschke's grandfather and father both worked in the county, and many people on Adams Road also have strong ties to St. Joseph County. "The town is built on these people, not Holladay Properties," she said. Bieschke said she is "disgusted" by the entire process but will continue to fight the Common Council, even if it means picketing each of their re-election bids. "I sure don't want to see those people getting voted in again," she said. "I want their neighborhoods to know where their interests are."Staff writer Jamie Loo: jloo@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6337